Soilproof fabric and process of making the same.



LEANDER J. CAVANAUGH, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

SQILPROOF FABRIC AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME,

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEANDER J. CAVA- 'NAUGH, citizen of the United States, and

resident of Swampscott, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soilproof Fabrics and Processes of Making the *Same, of Whichthe following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the production of a textile-fiber fabric so treated as to be rendered practically proof against soil or stain to such a degree that contact with dirt, grease, blacking, ink, or other stains results in no permanent discoloration or stain by reason of the fact that dirt or stain is excluded from absorption into the fiber so treated, and hence the dirt or stain may be readily and completely removed either by the application of water, of a damp cloth, or by other simple cleansing, and that too Without impairing the appearance of the surface of the fabric.

I am aware that it has been customary to coat textile fabrics with a layer or coating of waterproofing material usually containing a solution of rubber or gum; I am also aware that it has been proposed to coat various textile fabrics with a mixture of liquid cellulose and oil.

treated rendered harsh and stiff, but its appearance to the eye is also unfavorably affected, by giving the fabric a high gloss or glaze, or giving-it a painted or coated effect,

th of which results it is one of the objects of this invention to avoid. Furthermore the treatment with a mixture of liquid cellulose and oil involves a considerable consumption of the cellulose, which renders that method of treatment expensive.

My invention is founded on the discovery that if a textile fabric be specially prepared Specification of Letters Patent.

With both methods of i treatment, however, not only 1s the fabric Patented Sept. 3, 1918.

Application filed July 20, 1917. Serial no. 181,723.

will be required to give the desired effect, thereby efiect'ing substantial economy in the use of this expensive material.

As will be explained hereinafter the invention may be practised in various specific ways or with various modifications but the essential feature resides in the preliminary treatment of the fabric with a highly volatile medium that tends to exclude the penetration of the cellulose compound completely into the fiber so as to preserve the pliability of the fabric and a subsequent application of a liquid cellulose compound to the fabric so treated, while the fabric is still damp.

An excellent and comparatively cheap medium for preserving the softness of the fabric is naphtha or benzin. In cases whereit is desired to give the fabric a little more body while preserving its softness to the subsequent treatment, a filling agent such as castor oil, linseed oil or glycerin or the like may be used, and in such case I prefer to dilute the oil or glycerin with a liquid thinner such as benzln that is volatile and non-solvent of the cellulose compound.

When such filler is used a good proportion will be one part of oil to four parts of benzin. I hese proportions may be varied, but any considerable increase in the proportion of oil will produce a greasy or glazy effect which it is one of the objects of this in-' ventionto prevent. Castor oil is preferred to linseed because-of the tendency of the latter to impart a yellowish tinge to the fabric-although this effect maybe overcome for white fabrics by the use of whitening ingredients as hereinafter mentioned.

The fabric is impregnated or saturated with benzin or with benzin containing a relatively small admixture of oil by any suitable method such as passing the fabric through a bath of benzin or filler and between pressure rolls.

After the fabric has been so treated and before it has become dry I apply the liquid cellulose either by flowing it over the sur face of the fabric and scraping off the surplus to avoid waste, or by the application with a brush or other device.

A somewhat cheaper substitute for the oil or glycerin is paraffin wax dissolved in benzin. This has a somewhat greater water roof eflectand is less expensive to use. It as the desired result of leaving the fabric soft and pliable and appears to give a little more body or substance to thefabric so treated.

A further amplification or modification of my process consists in the use of a preliminary application of a fixer or binder agent such as a solution of alum or tannin mixed with a metallic salt. In this case the fabric is given a preliminary bath in the fixer solution and is then dried. Thereafter the oil and benzin or its equivalent, is impregnated into the cloth by running the cloth through a bath of this material and between squeezing rolls. The use of such a fixer appears to cause the fabric to take up more of the filler and the finished fabric under this method of treatment appears to have a little more body or substance. The cellulose compound may then be applied preferably while the treated fabric is still in a moist condition.

No particular cellulose compound or derivative is necessary since it is possible to use practically any of the liquid solutions of cellulose such as cellulose nitrate or the cel lulose acetate, or other liquid cellulose compounds.

The process is applicable to either white or colored goods. To get an intense dead white I use advantageously zinc powder ground in oil which if desired may bediluted with a suitable thinner such as tetrachlorid, although the use of any thinner is not essential. The whitening ingredient is mixed or stirred in with the liquid cellulose before the cellulose is applied to the treated fabric.

In treating colored goods I preferably, although not necessarily, dissolve or thin coloring matter of the same. shade as the colored fabric to be treated in some suitable medium such as oil, and then mingle this colbring mixture with the cellulose conipound which is then applied to the cloth as above indicated.

By pursuing the above described methods of treatment a fabric will be obtained which has its original natural appearance, and which retains its original softness and plia bility, and which is non-absorbent to the common forms of dirt, grease or stain, since this treatment makes it practically impossible for the dirt or stain to penetrate below the surface of the treated fabric. If the fabric is brought into contact with any dirt or stain it can be washed off with clear water or with a moist cloth or sponge or brush and the fabric will still retain its original appearance while being free from any objectionable glaze or discoloration.

By the use of the foregoing methods of treatment therefore, I produce a new article of manufacture comprising a textile fabric rendered impervious or non-absorbent to serves its original natural appearance, free from gloss or glaze or from any painted or coated effect, such fabric retaining all of its original flexibility and pliability, and I consider myself as the first to invent and pro-- duce a fabric having such characteristics as distinguished from coated or Waterproofed "fabrics heretofore made which by previous methods of treatment lose their pliability and also present to the eye an obvious coated effect.

The benzin whether used as a thinner for ing the soft flexible properties of the original fabric.

By using a highly volatile non-solvent like benzin with or without adding oil but preferably with a small amount of oil, said non-solvent quickly evaporates after the cellulose is applied. The fabric quickly dries and shows no greasy or glossy effect. By preventing undue penetration of thecellulose, the stilfening of the fabric is prevented. The fabric thus treated retains its pliability and natural appearance, which is a most important object in view.

What I claim is:

1. The process of soil-proofing textile fabric which consists in impregnating said fabric with a highly volatile liquid that is nonsolvent of liquid cellulose, and then subjecting said fabric while so impregnated to an applicatiOn of liquid cellulose, substantially as described.

2. The process of soil-proofing textile fabric which consists in impregnating said fabric with benzin then subjecting said fabric .while so impregnated to an application of liquid cellulose, and then mechanically removing the superficial portion of the cellulose so applied as by scraping, substantially as described.

3. The process of soil-proofing textile fabric which consists in impregnating 'said fabric with benzincontaining a relatively small admixture of oil, then subjectingsaid fabric while so impregnated to an application of liquid cellulose, whereby a-soil-proof fabric free from gloss or grease is produced, substantially as described.

4. The process of soil-proofing textile fabric which consists in first saturating said fabric with a fixer comprising a liquid bath containing a metallic salt, then drying the fabric so treated, then impregnating the fabric with a highly volatile non-solvent of cellulose and thereafter applying to said fabric, while still damp, a liquid preparation of dirt and stain, which at the same time precellulose, substantially as described.

5. The process of soil-proofing fabric which consists in first wetting the fibers of the said fabric with benzin or the like, and thereafter applying to the said fabric, while still wet, a moisture excluding medium consisting of liquid cellulose, substantially as described.

6. The above described article of manufacture comprising a textile fabric whose fibers are rendered non-absorbent of dirt or stain by an application of a highly volatile of benzin and of liquid cellulose and then subjected to scraping to renew the superficial cellulose before it dries or hardens.

8. The above described article of manufacture comprising a textile fabric whose fibers have been successively impregnated with a fixer agent and with benzin containing a relatively small admixture of oil, and thereafter coated with liquid cellulose, said fabric being substantially free from grease or glaze, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

LEANDER J. CAVANAUGH. 

